Ledger-index.



No. 847,184. PATEN-TED MAR. l2, 1907. D. JOHNSON.

LEDGrEBl INDEX.

ABPLIouIoN FILED JULY 11. 1905.

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UNTTED STATES PATENT @FETCHv .y Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 12, 1907.

Application filed July 11,1905. Serial No. 269,238.

T0 all whom, t may concern:

Be it knownthat I, DUVAL JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Pine Bluff, in the county of Jefferson and State ofArkansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Index- Ledgers,of .which the following is a specification. j

This invention relates to a ledger-index for ordinary cash-books,day-books, vand journals, the object of the invention being to providean index portion for each page or set of pages of such booksexposed whenthe book is opened, said portion havingcolumns to receive the numbers ofthe pages of the ledger whereon the accounts of the customers of abusiness establishment are kept, the several columns being designed toreceive the pagenumbers of diiferent portions of the ledger in orderthat all items to be posted in any given portion of the ledger may beposted at one time to avoid the necessity of posting to the entireledger and shifting from page to page at widely-separated points,whereby the operation of posting to the ledger will be simpliiied andtrouble, time, and labor saved.

Figure 1 of the drawing represents a leaf from an ordinary day-book,showing the exposed page thereof provided with the ledgerindex; and Fig.2 represents a leaf from a cash-book provided with the invention.

The numeral 1 represents an account sheet or leaf the exposed page ofwhich is shown provided with a main column 2 (which may be suitablyheaded) to receive the subjectentries, at the right of which are columns3 and 4L to receive the item amounts in dollars and cents and theirrespective totals. 4At the left of the column 2 the page is ruled toform a ledger-index portion 5, subdivided to provide columns 6, 7, 8, 9,and 10, each of said columns having a head-space ll, and above thesehead-spaces appears the general heading Ledger Folio or a similarheading appropriately worded to indicate the purpose of said columns.The head-spaces 11 are designed to receive suitable in dicia indicativeof the pages of a ledger to which they are respectively appropriated. Asshown, the index portion 5 is intended for use in connection with aneight-hundred-page ledger, the headspaces of the respective columns 6.7, 8, 9 and containing the figures 1-200, 201-401, "1101-6013 and601-801, indicating that column 6 is devoted to the first quarter,column 7 to the second quarter, column 8 to the third quarter, andcolumn 9 to-the fourth quarter, of the ledger, the index thus treatingthe ledger as divided.intoquarter-sections for convenience, ashereinafter described., in posting the entries from the day-bookthereto. Of course this mode of division is notessential, as the numberof columns in the index may vary and the division may be made inaccordance with the size of the ledger. The column 10 is a checking-offcolumn and though preferably ,used may be dispensed with. Atthe left ofthe index portion 5 an appropriately-headed date-column l2 is arranged.

In the ordinary process of posting when the accounts are about to beposted the bookkeeper or his assistant takes an index and quickly noteson the j ournal-page the ledgerpage numbers, which are placed in properjuxtaposition to the entries. The accounts are then posted, thebookkeeper taking each item in succession from top to bottom of thejournal-page and posting the. same in the ledger or ledgers. Thisoperation requires much time, as, owing to the fact that the numbers aresuccessively taken and which are so taken in order to avoid confusionand as far as possible liability of skipping and are necessarilydisposed in haphazard relation or without regard to the relativepositions of the accounts in the ledger, the accountant is compelled tosuccessively jump to widelyseparated portions of the ledger. With myconstruction this disadvantage and laborious process is obviated, aspreliminary to posting the index-numbers instead of being placed in anyconvenient position the bookkeeper may iind are placed according to thepages of the portions of the ledger which they designate in the colums6, 7, 8, or 9, as will be readily understood from an inspection of thedrawing. Thus when the entries are to be posted in the ledger theaccountant may first post the first two hundred pages of the ledger byreference to column 6, and then in succession post the othersections,whereby the successive entries posted are confined to more orless closely-related pages, the necessity of successively jumping towidely-diiierent portions of the ledger being thereby obviated and time,trouble, and labor saved. The postings as made may be checked in thecolumn 10 or opposite the ledger-page numbers in the columns 6, 7, 8,and 9, as indicated in the drawing.

It will be observed that by checking the IOO ledger-page numerals incolumns 6, 7, 8, and 9 as each item is posted and after posting checkingdown the column 10 it may be readily determined in a moment whether ornot the most common error of omitting a post has been committed. Also itwill be apparent that the several columns 6, 7, 8, and 9 may apply todiierent ledgers where all the sales of an establishment are entered inone book, in which event the book may be successively transferred toseveral ledgermen for posting. The checking-column 10 will in this caseenable an auditor checking down said column to see at a glance whetheror not all postings have been made. Establishments using city andcountry account ledgers and a petty-account ledger will 'find the indexoi' great convenience, as the columns 6, 7, and

Fig. 2 shows a specimen page of a six-hunl 8 may be used for indexingthe city and country ledgin presence of dred-page cash-book embodyingthe invention, the cash entries being placed in columni. The inventionis applicable to day-books, cash-books, and journals for use inconnection with ordinary led ers or loose-leaf ledgers. When aloose-leafle ger is used, the ledgerpages may be denoted alphabeticallyinstead of numerically. Having thus I claim is An account-sheet ruledfor use as a day book, journal or the like provided with a ledger-folioindex formed by vertical parallel columns, said columns having anappropriate general heading and being respectively appropriatelydesignated to represent different portions of the ledger.

In testimony whereor1 l affix my signature two witnesses. 1

DUVAL JOHNSON.

described the invention, what Witnesses:

WM. L. MATTHEWS, H. C. KILGORE.

